Walking with spinal cord injury possible thanks to exoskeleton

The Dutch initiative 'Project MARCH' from TU Delft will participate for the first time in the CYBATHLON 2024, an international competition around assistive medical technology, in October 2024. The 'Dream Team' of Project MARCH, together with pilot Daan van der Heyden, takes on the sporting challenge in the 'exoskeleton' category. FHI spoke with Ruben Koningsveld and Charlotte Bourdon about the exoskeleton of Project MARCH, a motorized robot suit that takes over the function of the lower body. 

“The exoskeleton gives hope to people who are partially paralyzed due to a low-level spinal cord injury,” says Electrical Engineer Ruben Koningsveld. “Take our pilot Daan for example. A motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the waist down, but he didn't give up. He was on the National Wheelchair Basketball Team and is an enthusiast hand biker. It is very special for Daan to finally be able to exercise upright again after seven years with the help of the exoskeleton.”

Big milestone
“October 2024 is an important milestone for Daan and for us,” Koningsveld continues. “It is very nice to work towards the match together with your teammates.” The aviation technology student, together with 27 fellow students, has set aside a year to help perfect the MARCH IX exoskeleton full-time. Although they are the ninth student team to work on the exoskeleton, this is the first team to participate in the Cybathlon.

“In recent years, the focus within the team has been on specific innovations in the exoskeleton. This year we want to merge all technologies,” explains PR coordinator Charlotte Bourdon. “We change team composition every year in September, but former team members remain involved in Project MARCH. They come by regularly and we exchange ideas and tips. That's one of the nice aspects of this project: everyone who participates is enthusiastic, because you know that you are working on something important that impact has on a human life.”

Technical challenges
During the Cybathlon, Van der Heyden will complete a course of ten obstacles in ten minutes with the MARCH IX exoskeleton. Bourdon: “It's about obstacles that you encounter in everyday life, such as climbing stairs, sitting down and getting up, bending over to grab something and so on. These are all movements that people without physical disabilities perform thoughtlessly, but which pose the necessary technical challenges for the developers of an exoskeleton.”

For example, the exoskeleton must be continuously and evenly supplied with power and data distribution must also take place quickly and without interference. The four motors in the exoskeleton are powered by a battery. Koningsveld: “I am responsible for the battery together with my teammates from 'Electrical & Embedded'; it must not catch fire or run out prematurely. In addition, this year we switched for the first time to a self-built PCB that consists of two components that are combined into one printed circuit board. This was successful and the next step is to improve the PCB. The new PCB has two advantages: it is smaller, and therefore takes up less space, and there are more options for the future.”

Groundbreaking
The use of electroencephalography (EEG), a technology that can measure the pilot's brain waves, is groundbreaking. After the EEG, the neural signals transmitted by the brain are interpreted and the pilot's intention is processed. The exoskeleton can therefore start or stop a movement itself without any physical effort input required by the user. Torque sensors then ensure that the movements are controlled very precisely, to achieve a 'natural' walking effect and maintain balance.

Bourdon: “We have a tight schedule. We will present the new one on March 7 design of the MARCH IX. Daan's training starts in May and ours is in July Reveal. Then we will have one live show a demonstration of Daan in the exoskeleton. In October we will leave for Zurich with all team members for the competition. That is of course the highlight of our year.”

Strict requirements
Since the new team starts in September, the current team will continue a little longer than normal. Bourdon and Koningsveld find that no problem at all. It characterizes the students' drive. “We only have a year and we want to make the most of that time by gaining as much knowledge and experience as possible,” says Koningsveld. “The organizers of the Cybathlon don't care that we are still studying. The requirements are the same for all participating parties.”

To meet the strict requirements, the team members use the knowledge not only of former participants but also of people from the business community. Bourdon: “We work with two parties that are also present at the event, but new partners can always be added! It is very valuable for us to be able to use the expertise of commercial companies. They have so much more experience than we do and sometimes come up with solutions that we would otherwise not have thought of. Without the help of our partners, we wouldn't be able to make it in such a short time.”

The Project MARCH exoskeleton cannot yet be used in everyday life. Bourdon: “We are like a Dream Team non-profit and focused on innovation, so we are not currently commercializing our exoskeleton. Who knows, this might be something for the future.”

Sneak preview
Although the official presentation of the design has yet to take place, visitors to the Medical Electronics event on February 6 will already receive one sneak preview. Koningsveld: “We are bringing an exoskeleton from a previous MARCH team, so that visitors can see it with their own eyes and ask questions to my colleague Jort Kuiper and myself. Jort and I will take care of the presentation together and there will also be a stand from the team.”

Sign In
Can't you wait to see the exoskeleton and would you like to talk to the team members? Register now for free for the Project MARCH lecture via the website. 

Register for the event here